The End
by yomibitorazo
Summary: Kagome races against time to finish the quests.
1. Of Itomagio's

Please note that Kagome and others may be a wee bit OOC. Also, many songs used and items mentioned throughout the story were released, invented, or refined to what they are today after 1996/1997, which is the time from whence our lovely heroine came.  
  
Please also make note that I have greater chances of winning the lottery than owning Inu-Yasha: A Fuedal Fairy Tale; however, if I were to win the lottery and Rumiko Takahashi was willing to talk...  
  
The End...  
  
...Of Itomagio's  
  
A young woman stood outside a small, old building. Behind her the door was open, before her stood three people, her family: Mama, Sota, and Ojii-chan. By the door sat an over-stuffed yellow bag, worn from years of traveling, a new carrying case, an equally new guitar case, and a modern bow with complimentary arrows guaranteed to withstand constant use and rough conditions.  
  
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" the older woman asked. Inwardly, she alternately raged, wept, and cheered for her only daughter.  
  
"Hai, Mama," Higurashi Kagome sighed. They'd been over this a dozen times already, well, a dozen and one now. "I need to complete the Shikon no Tama-" and kill Naraku, but best not let her know lest she worry more "- before... and I want to be with them. They're my family just as much as you are. Onegai, don't be sad or angry at me and don't cry." By now her eyes had darkened to a cerulean shade, glittering with suppressed tears.  
  
"Don't go, 'nee-chan," Sota wailed, flinging his arms around Kagome's waist. She caught him and gently stroked his hair giving her mother a helpless look.  
  
The older male now stepped foward, clearing his throat. "Now Kagome, I took the liberty of packing protection and good health charms in your bag," he either ignored or didn't see his grandaughter's exasperated face. "Just remember to enjoy yourself and not dwell on... unpleasant things. Don't push yourself to find the kakera and don't let Inuyasha push you either." He, too, enveloped her in a hug. Jii-chan placed a kiss on her cheek and stepped away, pulling Sota with him. It was ironic that after three years of the most ridiculous excuses, Jii-chan would finally tell her school the truth as to why she would no longer attend school.  
  
Mama came foward and hugged her daughter. "Be happy," she whispered into Kagome's ear. She kissed Kagome, tightened her embrace for a second, then forcilbly let go to stand beside the others.  
  
Kagome turned to the door and grabbed her old yellow bag. She walked down the steps to the ancient well the building housed and hefted the bag onto the edge, after repeating the process with the black case, she once again stood before her family.  
  
Clutching the guitar case in her hand as if it were a lifeline she took one last look around the shrine that had been her home for all of her eighteen years. She looked at her family one last time. The young woman summoned a smile to grace her face. "Ai shiteru. Sayonara." She turned and walked down the old stairs one last time, a chorus of 'ai shiteru's' and 'sayonara's' following her. She went to the well; climbed onto the edge between the two bags; hooked a yellow strap over her left arm, then switched the guitar to that hand and grabbed the black handle. She took a deep breath and pushed foward, the familiar magical aura welcomed her for the last time.  
  
(Itomagio is used to say goodbye temporarily. Sayonara is used to say goodbye permanently or when you don't expect to see someone for a very long time.) 


	2. Of Osuwari's

The End...  
  
...Of Osuwari's  
  
She landed on the other side, Sengoku Jidai. Kagome lifted her familiar friend, the big, yellow bag, onto her shoulders and started to climb. Once at the top, she removed the backpack and leaned against the well, studying the scenery and waiting for someone to realize she was back. Someone would have to go down in the well to get the other two items she brought and it wouldn't be her.  
  
"Oi, wench!" came the familiar cry. Right after hearing this, a hanyou burst into the clearing, slowing to a walk as he came closer. Inuyasha stood before her; he was a head taller than her, unruly white hair falling to his ass- quite a nice ass, too,- golden eyes performing their own perusal of her, and one must not forget the oh-so-kawaii ears that topped his head. Currently, said ears were twitching slightly, picking up the sounds the rest of their little group were making on their way to greet Kagome, the heart and soul of the group. "Where the hell have you been? You said you'd only be gone three days, so imagine my surprise that not only after three days had you not returned, but someone also made sure I couldn't go get you! What was so much more important than finding Naraku and completing the Tama that you took shichi extra days to return?!"  
  
Seeming to have completely ignored his tirade, she spoke, "Inuyasha, I brought extra stuff this time; it's still in the well could you please-"  
  
"What do I look like to you, a servant?" he huffed as he leapt into the well only to reappear moments later with the black carrying case and the guitar. When he would have just dropped both items, Kagome snatched the guitar case from Inuyasha, thanking him curtly while cradling the guitar case to her chest. He surveyed the baggage then turned his attention to her again. "Planning a long stay this time?"  
  
Before she could answer Shippo came into sight, launching his small kitsune body at her with an enthusiastic "Kagome!" Subconsciously expecting this, the young woman had already shifted the case to one hand, and stood ready to catch the boy with her free arm. Sango and Miroku followed quickly on Kirara. As greetings were exchanged a certain, patient, hanyou stood to the side.  
  
"Wench! I asked you some questions."  
  
"Inuyasha, I did return the day after I initially left. I spoke to Kaede and she told me you all went to track a rumor of a kakera; something had come up, so I told her I needed more time and asked if she could place a miko barrier around the well to keep you from getting me. Obviously she did a good job of it."  
  
As Kagome spoke to the hanyou, it hadn't escaped the notice of the taijiya that her friend had more luggage than usual and it hadn't escaped the notice of the houshi that a certain woman's attention was diverted. A hand casually reached out; another hand, in the shape of a fist, made contact.  
  
"Kagome-chan, why did you bring extra bags?" Sango asked, completely ignoring the dazed man on the ground.  
  
"Ano, minna, I've decided to stay until the Shikon is complete and Naraku is dead." She sat on the grass with Shippo, pulling the black case towards her. "I wanted to make sure I would have no reason to go home anytime soon, so I guess I over did it." Kagome now was digging through the case and soon emerged with a strange black box. She lifted the box to her face and turned towards Sango, who failed to notice who had regained his equilibrium. A flash of light was aided in startling the woman by a groping hand. Another flash of light signaled Miroku had met a favorite friend of his, Hiraikotsu.  
  
Kagome took the paper that came out of the little box and laid it next to the first one that had appeared. "This," indicating the black box, "is a camera, a Polaroid camera. It... paints an instant picture, you could say." Shippo, still sitting in Kagome's lap, looked down at the square papers that had come from the pole-are-ode came-era.  
  
"Look, look, there's a Sango and Miroku!" he squealed excitedly. Inuyasha leaned over Kagome to see two pictures: one of the houshi groping Sango and one of her beating him.  
  
"What's it for?"  
  
"It's to capture a moment in time, to create a keepsake of a memory. In this case, the memory was a funny one." She passed the Polaroid camera to Shippo and once again rummaged, giving a small, pleased sound as she revealed another black box, though differently shaped. "This is a digital camera; it has the same idea as a Polaroid camera, only you don't get the picture on paper but, rather, on the screen. Watch." Winking at Shippo, Kagome called out in a singsong voice, "Oh, Inuyasha." Shippo's eyes lit up in understanding and anticipation as he raised the camera as he had seen her do.  
  
"What do you want, wench? We need to get going if we're gonna find more shards and Nara-"  
  
"Osuwari!"  
  
Two lights flashed simultaneously, catching the descent of Inuyasha forever on film.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
After a day of playing with the cameras, the shard-hunting party decided to depart come morning. They currently sat in Kaede's hut, passing the time after eating dinner and going to bed.  
  
It was at this time Kagome opened the second black case, revealing a well-used guitar. Sango watched in fascination as she pulled out the wood instrument and began tuning. The woman had no need to pay attention to the lecherous houshi as he was currently... taking a nap.  
  
"Kagome-chan, what is that?"  
  
"This," indicating the instrument as she began to tune, "is a guitar, a musical instrument. Just pluck the strings," strikes the open A, "and you get a note; if you put your finger on the string," places two fingers on the A, "you get a different note," plays a C. "From that, you could build a chord, which is three notes played at once." She placed her fingers across several strings and played an F major chord. "From the chords comes the song." Kagome sat in the firelight and began to play.  
  
Hey now, all you sinners  
  
Sango gave a pointed glare at the now conscious Miroku, who responded with his usual innocent expression. The young miko's voice was smooth and gentle as she continued, despite the grin from watching the byplay.  
  
Put your lights on, put your lights on  
  
Hey now, all you lovers  
  
Put your lights on, put your lights on  
  
Hey now, all you killers  
  
Put your lights on, put your lights on  
  
Hey now, all you children  
  
Leave your lights on, you better leave your lights on  
  
Kagome gazed into the fire, lost to the music now. Inuyasha sat against the wall, eyes closed, seeming to ignore the song, but his ears stood at attention, catching every nuance of the music. Sango, Shippo, Kaede, and Miroku sat spellbound by the sound flowing effortlessly into the small space.  
  
Cause there's a monster living under my bed  
  
Whispering in my ear  
  
There's an angel, with a hand on my head  
  
She say I've got nothing to fear  
  
There's a darkness deep in my soul  
  
I still got a purpose to serve  
  
So let your light shine, into my home  
  
God, don't let me lose my nerve  
  
Lose my nerve  
  
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now  
  
Wo oh hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now  
  
Her voice grew stronger, more passionate as the song played on.  
  
Hey now, all you sinners  
  
Put your lights on, put your lights on  
  
Hey now, all you children  
  
Leave your lights on, you better leave your lights on  
  
Because there's a monster living under my bed  
  
Whispering in my ear  
  
There's an angel, with a hand on my head She say's I've got nothing to fear  
  
La ill aha ill allah  
  
We all shine like stars  
  
We all shine like stars  
  
Then we fade away  
  
The last notes faded into the silence, broken only by the crackling fire and the steady beat of rain outside.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
The next morning, Kagome stood aside with Kaede, speaking softly. The older miko hugged the younger one and whispered words of encouragement and farewells, promising to pray for her.  
  
Kagome straightened up and left her mentor standing alone. She approached her friends, specifically the hanyou who stood tapping his foot in a familiar display of impatience. When he would of lambasted her for taking too long, she reached up and placed a finger on his lips. The young woman gripped the edges of his haori, pulling him down; she then shifted her grasp to the prayer beads that had been his for practically their entire relationship and slipped them up over his head.  
  
"I trust you not to hurt me now," she explained to the speechless Inuyasha. "Just try to have more patience in any situation where I would have previously 'sat' you, ne?"  
  
"A-arigato." Then, with typicality of the emotionally stunted demon we all know and love he then said, "We've wasted enough time, let's go." And with that he started walking west, back to the sun and his stunned friends, feeling as though he stood at the top of the world; the past three years of friendship, trust, revelations, disappointments, new enemies, old love and new behind him, something vastly, but dreadfully, unknown before him. The feeling that something great, something horrendous was coming began to grow deep within.  
  
(Please belatedly note that any and all songs used in this story do not belong to me.  
  
Put Your Lights On from Carlos Santana's Supernatural featuring Everlast  
  
Shichi is one of several Japanese words for seven.)  
  
7/17/03 


	3. Of Kikyo Related Problems

The End...  
  
...Of Kikyo-Related Problems  
  
The silver-haired hanyou stopped, scenting the air. "Kikyo," he murmured. He glanced at his companions over his shoulder before taking off.  
  
"Kikyo," the kitsune stated angrily, carefully watching the aforementioned's reincarnation.  
  
She stood staring thoughtfully in the direction Inuyasha had gone. Turning to Sango as she laid down her bow to remove her backpack and quiver she asked, "Sango-chan, may I borrow Kirara-chan?"  
  
At her mistress's consent, Kirara transformed and took off to follow Inuyasha with Kagome on her back. They traveled a short distance, well, short for a youkai, before coming to a clearing.  
  
The young miko dismounted and Kirara changed back to her smaller form, then leapt into her arms.  
  
There, in the clearing, stood the dead miko in the arms of her former lover. He was trying to make her listen to him, but her attention had shifted to the new arrivals, who were hesitantly coming forward. It seemed that her reincarnation, in her haste to follow, had neglected to bring her bow and arrows for protection. Not that it mattered, it just made killing the young woman easier.  
  
Inuyasha finally realized Kikyo wasn't listening to him; she wasn't even looking at him. He turned to follow her gaze, only for his surroundings to suddenly become crystal clear. He heard the slow footsteps, smelled the calming, gentle scent carried on the breeze, saw two of his companions coming forth, eyes locked on Kikyo.  
  
She stopped a meter or so from the couple, fingers moving minutely in a repetitive motion through the two-tailed neko's fur for comfort and strength. Kagome stood quiet for a few moments, gathering her thoughts before speaking.  
  
"Kikyo, may I speak with you, alone?"  
  
Wary of a trick, but knowing the girl to be too honest, or maybe it was naivety, to try anything, she nodded; both mikos ignored the sputtering hanyou. When he made to stop them from leaving, Kikyo simply placed the same spell on him she had once used on Kagome, effectively freezing him in his tracks.  
  
A soft breeze sifted through the trees. The silence was only broken by the occasional bird's call and two sets of footfalls, rustling through the grass. They walked a distance far enough away to be out of Inuyasha's hearing range, but close enough to still be seen.  
  
"I want to make a bargain with you," Kagome's voice filling the tense silence. "I want you to stop trying to kill me."  
  
"And what is it you think to give me that I want," the dead miko's voice was void of emotion. "You can't kill Naraku, you're too weak. You could give me your shards, but it has been just as easy to take them from you in the past. You could relinquish any claim on Inuyasha, but he has already promised to protect me, avenge me... love me. What could you possibly give me?"  
  
"I can give you and Inuyasha a second chance at a life together," she said calmly, startling Kikyo.  
  
"A second chance," the dark-eyed miko murmured to herself. "Why would you do this? How would you do this?"  
  
"When the Shikon no Tama is whole again I can wish for you to live again."  
  
"Why?"  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
The sun sank lower in the sky, marking the passage of time as the two who shared a soul spoke. As the sun began to set, they returned to the spellbound hanyou.  
  
After releasing him, Kikyo turned to Kagome, extending her hand to her. When she mirrored her actions, the miko in white and red dropped a shard into her hand then walked away.  
  
Kirara again transformed and carried Kagome back to their friends, followed by a mystified hanyou. They arrived to see the others had set up camp. Kagome went to her bag, gathered her bath stuff and guitar, and saying she wanted to be alone, walked to the hot spring they had passed a little ways back before the Kikyo incident. Poor Inuyasha was left alone to fend of the verbal abuse of Sango, Miroku, and Shippo and the physical abuse of said kitsune, trying not to lose his temper.  
  
The shard hunters settled down eventually to make dinner, the calm was only disturbed once by the taijiya... helping the houshi fall asleep.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
Kagome bathed slowly in the hot spring. The first quarter moon's light vaguely lit the clearing; the silver light reflected off the water, further illuminating the area. She eventually rose from the water to get out and dry off, the moonlight glistening across her pale, wet flesh. Standing on the shore, she toweled herself dry then her hair before dressing into pajama shirt and pants with cats dancing across the fabric.  
  
When she was finished, Kagome packed away the bathing materials and unpacked her guitar. After swiftly tuning the strings with the ease of years of practice, she began to play. The haunting melody of the Moonlight Sonata filled the air.  
  
She sat gazing up at the stars, fingers moving across the strings by memory, leaving her mind free.  
  
As she played, she slowly became aware of another presence in the clearing.  
  
(Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight' in C Sharp: Adagio Sostenuto, Ludwig Van Beethoven)  
  
7/24/03 


	4. Of Chance Meetings

The End.  
  
...Of Chance Meetings  
  
Despite the presence behind her, Kagome still played; she summoned her miko power to feel for youki in the immediate vicinity, but only felt the faint youki of her youkai companions.  
  
Light footfalls could be heard under the rise and fall of the music. She saw movement in her peripheral vision as the person came to stand in front of her. A vaguely familiar little girl stood before her, watching the guitar with the eager fascination of a child.  
  
The girl wore an orange-checkered kimono, her short, black hair was down save for a small ponytail sitting atop her head. Kagome smiled faintly as she decided the hairstyle was reminiscent of one from a poorly dubbed 1980's American movie.  
  
The song ended and silence filled the clearing. As the child continued to study the instrument, the miko suddenly realized where she had seen her before.  
  
"You follow Sesshoumaru!" she blurted without thinking.  
  
The midget groupie turned her attention to the pretty lady. "Rin travels with Sesshoumaru-sama," she agreed. "Jaken-sama was being noisy, so I decided to get away from him and find food while we wait for Sesshoumaru-sama to come back. Then Rin heard beautiful music, so I followed it. It's sad, where did you learn it? Who're you? What's this instrument? I've never seen anything like it before."  
  
Smiling at the rambling response, Kagome answered. "This," gesturing to the guitar, "is called a guitar. The song I played is well-known where I come from, it's called the Moonlight Sonata. And I am Higurashi Kagome."  
  
"Can Kagome-sama play something else for Rin?"  
  
"Call me just Kagome and you have a deal," she said laughing. As Rin sat on the grass with her, Kagome ran through her memory looking for something good to play. Soon she thought of the perfect one.  
  
Music once again drifted through the clearing, carrying to the ears of another far off.  
  
Close your eyes  
  
Have no fear  
  
The monster's gone  
  
He's on the run and your friend's here Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl  
  
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl Before you go to sleep  
  
Say a little prayer  
  
Every day in every way  
  
It's getting better and better Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl  
  
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl Out on the ocean sailing away  
  
I can hardly wait  
  
To see you come of age  
  
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient 'Cause it's a long way to go  
  
A hard row to hoe  
  
Yes it's a long way to go  
  
But in the meantime Before you cross the street  
  
Take my hand  
  
Life is what happens to you  
  
While you're busy making other plans Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl  
  
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl Before you go to sleep  
  
Say a little prayer  
  
Every day in every way  
  
It's getting better and better Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
  
Beautiful girl Darling, darling, darling Darling Rin  
  
Rin lay on the ground sound asleep as the song ended. Kagome smiled at the cherub bathed in silver moonlight. She quietly packed away her guitar feeling better as she tried to think of what to do with the sleeping child.  
She finally decided that the only solution would be to carry her back to camp then enlist Inuyasha to find Jaken or, if necessary, Sesshoumaru. But fate, it would seem, had a different plan in mind, as the woman suddenly felt an incredibly strong youki directly behind her.  
Standing, she spun around, causing her head to spin and her vision turn black. She reflexively reached out to brace herself. As the darkness receded, she became excruciatingly aware of the steady thumping under her hand, as well as the gentle rise and fall of her 'brace'.  
Kagome slowly lifted her gaze to meet the cold one of the taiyoukai before her.  
  
(Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), John Lennon)  
  
7/29/03 


End file.
